A long time ago somehow some European hares were brought to Lopez Island.
Inevitably some got loose.
Over time the liberated hares interbred with any native rabbits that might have already been here.
Also, occasional escapes of American domestic rabbits got into the mix.
That population used to be a fairly common and good-looking bunch of wild rabbits.
Several years back cases of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus began to be reported on a neighboring island.
We all wondered how long it would take for the virus to figure out how to ride the ferry to Lopez.
It took about three years as near as I have been able to time it.
We don't see any wild rabbits anymore.
No comments:
Post a Comment